


don't know if you'll always be amazed but i wanna love you tonight

by FreddyHoneychurch



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Dark Phoenix Spoilers, M/M, X-Men Dark Phoenix spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 19:22:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18998941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreddyHoneychurch/pseuds/FreddyHoneychurch
Summary: **XMEN DARK PHOENIX SPOILERS**based off the leaked plot/gifsetA few weeks after losing Jean, Charles reflects on his new life in Paris with Erik, and just how vital he had been to his own recovery.





	don't know if you'll always be amazed but i wanna love you tonight

Charles wasn’t quite sure what he had been expecting when he had agreed to essentially run away to Paris with Erik. His heart had felt broken, watching Jean sacrifice herself and he couldn’t help but feel like he had been the one to cause all this. He had been so arrogant, so prideful, Raven had warned him so many times, even Erik had warned him, and he’d still refused to listen and now he was left without the student he had cherished so deeply. Jean had been like family to him, and he’d lost her, along with Raven. He’d all but lost Hank too, someone whose loyalty he’d all but taken for granted.  


So when Erik had come to him in the quiet aftermath of all the chaos, offering a new life away from all the heartbreak, the anguish, the constant reminders of his beloved student, he’d said yes without thinking. He hadn’t even questioned how Erik had found them housing so quickly, or how he was paying for his half of the rent, and he found that he didn’t really want to. This was enough, just enjoying a peaceful life with someone he had never thought he’d be able to stay in the same room with for more than an hour, let alone live with. The man had disappeared a short while ago, saying that he had to go and fetch something. Knowing Erik it was likely food or some silly trinket he’d bought in the marketplace down the street from their flat. The warm feeling in his chest when he thought of Erik only grew when he sensed the other man’s presence nearby.  


Those first few nights, Erik had been an invaluable help. He’d known how to soothe his terrors at night, and how to assuage his guilt. He’d make the perfect cup of tea and sit with Charles until he was able to fall back asleep. Without complaint, he’d carry Charles over to his wheelchair, or bring it over if a nightmare was particularly bad. “Why else would we get you a metal wheelchair, Charles?” He’d teased him after one night where they’d both consumed far too much wine. They had both collapsed into giggles after, recounting the weeks they had spent travelling and looking for mutants to recruit together. And if Charles was being honest with himself, it was then that they’d fallen in love.  


“Go fuck yourself.” Erik had drawled in a near perfect mimicry of Logan’s response to their first attempt to recruit him, complete with cigars that Charles wasn't even sure where he had gotten them from. He had promptly fell into another round of laughs at the exaggerated expression on Erik's face, nearly falling off the dingy sofa they'd managed to fit into their cozy flat. He hadn’t felt so young and carefree since those times and by the look on Erik’s own face, he felt the same way. They had been in love, and hadn’t been weighed down by all of life’s heartbreaks and tragedies and all that mattered was finding more people like them. More mutants like them so they could create an equal world for them.  


“It’s rude to sneak up on someone, old friend.” He called out, pulled back into the present moment. “It’s rude to use your mutation to ruin a surprise.” A voice murmured back in his ear and a box was set down on the table in front of him. Charles started, surprised that it was a chessboard. He looked up at Erik wordlessly, who only smirked back at him and sat down in the seat across from him. “Afraid I’ll beat you again?” He asked, opening the box, setting up the board.  


“I think I remember that it was you being a sore loser that prevented us from playing more, old friend.” Charles replied, finding his voice again. He willed away the flush that came to his cheeks as he realized it was the chessboard that they had played on all those years ago. “How on earth did you find this old thing? I thought it had gotten lost ages ago.”  


“Oh I simply took it with me, I thought you had known.” Erik waved a hand, starting to set the board up.  


“You continue to surprise me, Erik. I always knew there was good in you, even with your apparent burglary of my chess set.” Charles murmured fondly.  


“Careful, you’ll ruin my reputation. I’m that fearsome Magneto fellow, I’ll have you know. Wanted for several crimes.” Erik grumbled, though there was a hint of a smile playing at the edges of his mouth, “Known enemy of the X-Men and their powerful leader Professor X.” 

“You are one of the greatest men I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, Erik. Truly. I would have been lost, adrift, overtaken by the anger and resentment and pain had you not helped me.” Charles leaned back, taking a moment to simply look over at the other man. 

“The world would have been lost without you in it, Charles. You and I, we’ve both made mistakes, no one knows that more than I do. But I will always be there for you, regardless of our differences. You’ve worked hard for the future of mutants and of humans, now let the younger ones do the work.” Erik crossed his arms over the table, leaning closer to Charles. “You are one of the only things in this damn world worth believing in. Your students knew that, Jean knew that, Raven knew that. I know that. You’ve done so much and this is my way of saying thank you.”  


Charles felt himself turning pink, letting Erik’s words sink in. Even back during their search for others like them, he hadn’t been so open. Or overtly direct about his thoughts. It had always been him teasing and flirting, trying to get Erik to open up. He'd managed to get the other man to smile, to laugh and to at least talk about his hopes and dreams for the future. But nothing that deep ever. At least not out loud. He thought he should say something, anything but fortunately Erik saved him, having placed a chess piece in each fist, holding them out to Charles.  


“Now, which hand? Harder for you to cheat if you don’t know which colour you’re picking.” 

Still finding it difficult to form words, Charles simply reached up, taking a few moments to decide before tapping his fingers against the back of Erik's left fist.  


Wordlessly, Erik turned his hand over, opening his fist up so Charles could retrieve his chess piece, a grin dancing across his face. He hadn’t seen Erik so happy, so openly adoring in so many years that it hit him in a rush of emotions and as he set his piece down.  


“I rather think I love you, dear.” He surprised himself with the admission, having never even said the words back when things were peaceful, and before that fateful day in Cuba.  


He felt pleased when he looked back up and saw that Erik was visibly flustered. He watched as the other man let out a fond laugh as he ducked his head, placing his own chess piece, only peeking up at Charles through his lashes.  


“Sentiment was always your specialty, Charles. For what it’s worth, I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> based off the gifset of the leaked footage I saw that has like no captions and is like 15/20 seconds long 
> 
> title is from Marcel by Her's.


End file.
